Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.

Email This Story

Send email to this addressEnter Your NameAdd a comment hereVerification

A majority of Graduate and Professional Students Association senators voted to put Student Media’s $5 student fee on the ballot for the regular election next month.

Gabriella Ramos, Student Media outreach coordinator, said the organization needs the fee to continue printing as a daily newspaper next year. The Evergreen is projected to spend $130,000 by the end of the fiscal year with only $136,000 in its reserves. The advertising department, she said, was impacted by the campus-wide 2.5 percent cut, which affected the Evergreen’s revenue.

Ramos said to prevent future overspending, cuts have been made within The Daily Evergreen’s budget. One of the major cuts was summer print production.

“Without student support, we will not be able to continue as we are,” Ramos said, “but we would be able to expand on resources and increase coverage across campus and the community.”

Kristen Johnson, a grad student in the chemistry department, asked if the Evergreen will still need the student fee if the budget issue recovers in 3-4 years. Ramos replied that the fee will be a sustainable way to continue operations even if the budget recovers, combating the office’s 60 percent drop in advertising revenue over the past 10 years.

Alharbi Ayman, a geology graduate student, asked if there was any data collected on graduate student readership of The Daily Evergreen. Ramos said there were no demographic polls conducted in the past.

GPSA President Shane Reynolds asked if the fee amount would increase over the next few years. Ramos said she did not have any information on future increases or decreases.

Michael Craven, GPSA Fiscal Health Advisory Committee member, said he thinks GPSA owes the students a chance to vote on whether to save the Evergreen.

“This is for the constituents to decide themselves,” he said.

Craven considers the Evergreen important not only to the public, but to himself as he reads local and campus news every day.

“The university has a lot of weird things in the budget,” Craven said. “This is a chance to secure funding [for] The Daily Evergreen … that the university can’t touch.”

Later in the meeting, two budget proposals were announced concerning funding for WSU’s Children’s Center. One proposal was to add a $15,000 increase to the initial funding amount, which is $60,000. The other proposal would keep funds at $60,000 and distribute $15,000 to other departments within GPSA that need more funding.

“This is why I brought this to the Senate,” GPSA Vice President Amir Gilmore said, “to see how do they feel about it, how can we move forward, how can we help the Children’s Center and how can we make sure that grad student families are safe and protected.”